jt1120

Millennium class afts are the best in the fleet. Your balcony is about as big as your cabin. Can't recommend it enough.

On 6/29/2019 at 3:08 AM, Rosie C said:

Hi just got off the boat, as it was our first time on the boat so can’t compare and contrast.  The boat has been completely refurbished internally new carpets furniture paintings etc.  

It's a SHIP!!!!!!! It's not a boat. Sorry, a bit of a pet peeve of mine. We'll be on the Sirena in just a few weeks and are looking forward to seeing the improvements made.

This will be our 40th cruise overall and we've never done a bow cabin. I know that it's just an oceanview but the price was too low to let this slip so we decided to try a bow cabin. Anyone have any feedback? Specifically, we're in #6001 on the Infinity. Any info is greatly appreciated.

What terminal does the ship leave from? Did they have a Chef's Table dinner? Is the Qsine the old version or did they update it with Le Petit Chef?

We did it on the Edge and loved it. I will agree that, once you've done it, you probably won't do it again unless you're with people who haven't done it yet. I love the old Qsine with it's crazy (but delicious) menu.

On 12/2/2018 at 1:20 PM, kimlovesfl said:

We don't visit specialty restaurants at all, as we find the food in the MDR and buffet to be quite good, without having to spend ridiculous amounts extra. We did eat at Qsine on the Silhouette Sept 2017, at the invitation of the executive chef, so it cost us nothing. We enjoyed it, but would probably not do it again at the price charged. Le Petit Chef, while an interesting concept, is too expensive and has far too limited a menu for us to really consider it. Can courses be mixed and matched from one menu to the other? My husband enjoys filet mignon, but can't eat seafood, so he would not be able to enjoy the bouillabaise. 

My suggestion is to live a little and try it. We thoroughly enjoyed it on the Edge and would do it again but with a different ship.

The term “game changer” gets tossed around quite a bit these days, but to describe the Celebrity Edge, one would be hard pressed not to use game changer as a perfect description to this beautiful and innovative cruise ship.

The innovation begins as soon as you arrive at the new, state-of-the-art terminal that Celebrity built expressly for the Edge. Gone are the long lines and dozens of associates at the counter. If you’ve checked in online, they already have most of the info they need. You’ll go through security and then approach someone with a tablet in their hand. If you have downloaded the Celebrity app (highly recommended), then they simply scan your sea pass and that’s it. Actually, it took us longer to get onboard the ship than it did in the check-in area.

“Where are our Sea Pass cards?” we wondered. They are waiting for you at your stateroom in a sealed envelope. If it has been tampered with, you are instructed to go to Guest Relations where they would issue new passes. In our case, we tore open the envelope, took out our cards and in we walked into our infinite veranda cabin.

Much has been written about the infinite veranda. The idea is to make the balcony part of your cabin. There are doors that you can close if you wish to separate the balcony from the cabin, but that probably won’t happen very often. On the balcony you find two buttons: one to raise and lower the accordion blinds, and one to raise and lower your infinite veranda window. Keep in mind that they can override your control if they so choose. They did that in Nassau where we were told they were closed for “maintenance and cleaning.” We didn’t leave the ship and saw neither maintenance or cleaning. We were not happy about it. If you pay for a balcony, you should be able to use it. All in all, I probably would not do an infinite veranda cabin again.

On the positive side, the bedding was heavenly, the mattress very firm (well, it’s brand new so it better be), and the shower was a bit larger compared to Millennium class or Solstice class showers. The bathrooms feature a bar of what looked like oatmeal soap at the sink and three dispensers for shower gel, shampoo and conditioner in the shower. I recommend bringing your own. We also found the cabins to be very spacious with lots of storage all around.

Lots of restaurants to choose from, and the food in all of the ones we sampled (Cyprus, Cosmopolitan, Le Petit Chef and the Oceanview Café) was outstanding. In the four main dining rooms you have the standard choices available in all four plus each dining room has its own specialties. Cyprus is Mediterranean, Cosmo is American fare, Tuscan is Italian and Normandie is French. Le Petit Chef is truly a highlight as it’s unlike anything you’ve probably ever experienced before. The lights are dimmed and (for lack of a better term) a cartoon is projected onto your table and plate. During the presentation, four chefs prepare their own specialties and put them on your plate. Then, when the chef is done, the servers bring the actual dish. The only drawback is that the menu is limited. There are alternate dishes you can order, but they do not sync with what the chefs are preparing on your table. All in all, it was rather enjoyable and very unique.

We wanted to have lunch on the Magic Carpet but couldn’t get a seat. To be honest, I wasn’t blown away by the menu so it didn’t really matter that we missed it. Instead, we headed to the Oceanview Café and enjoyed more of their tremendously delicious Indian fare among other offerings. One mark against the buffet is that they have replaced the Purel dispensers with sinks where you can wash your hands. The knock is that hardly anyone used them. I’m hoping that Celebrity rethink this and at least have someone encouraging people to wash their hands before entering the Oceanview Café.

Eden is a venue that presents performance art. Singing, acrobatics and other street fare-styled performances are featured. For our tastes, we found it to be a bit weird. Plus, once you’ve experienced it, there’s no reason to go back and the Eden area represents quite a bit of real estate on the ship. If you eat there, someone will come to your table and talk to you. They tell you they are from the planet Wu or something strange like that, and we just didn’t care for it. I’m hoping that they do other things in the space like soloists, duos or perhaps comedians. It just felt under-utilized.

When you are onboard the Edge, everything seems re-thought. It’s like Celebrity looked at every experience on a ship and said, “how can we do this better or different?” Case in point, the gangway on deck two. Let’s be honest, there are few times that you get off a ship on the gangway and don’t feel like you’re in a dungeon. It’s not a great experience. On the Edge, they have turned it into something that feels like a welcome center. Everything is bright and airy, including an interesting LED light display on the ceiling. It’s actually pretty gorgeous! On deck two you will also find The Basement, which is the teen hangout area. There weren’t many teens on board so I’m not sure how used the space was. It looked pretty cool though.

Also rethought is the water bottle. On the Edge there are no plastic bottles. They now have aluminum water bottles (think the aluminum beer bottle) which are supposed to be better for the environment. I like the idea but I recycle plastic and aluminum so what is the difference?

The shows were just ok. We saw two of the three that were presented. Both featured lead singers and a fantastic band. Both vocalists were very good but they seemed a bit self-indulgent and chose lots of songs that we didn’t know. Mind you, we’re not old farts and know lots of popular songs. Still, we felt both shows were just ok (with a slight nod to the African-American gentleman who we felt was awesome).

For Captain’s Club members, the special cocktail reception that is usually held in a lounge from 5-7 has been replaced. Now, Celebrity loads three drinks on your Sea Pass card and you can get your drinks in any of the lounges, with the exception of Eden and the Magic Carpet. We prefer drinks and appetizers in a lounge instead of the freedom to go anywhere you choose. We couldn’t find a place to sit in the Martini Bar on one night and the other night we didn’t get service there because it was so busy. I hope this isn’t a change at Celebrity and that all future Captain’s Club cocktail receptions are conducted this way.

All in all, the Celebrity Edge is definitely something to experience. The style and décor is jaw-dropping, the food is top notch, and the service is amazing. We will definitely be back to the Edge and hopefully soon. Just wow!

To say that I am disappointed with Celebrity would be an understatement. My November 21 preview cruise has been cancelled so I had to call them to see if I could get on one of the remaining preview cruises. I was astonished to find that my original cruise, which I was paying $1923 for both of us, has now ballooned to over $3,000!!!! Of course they won't honor the original price so either I spend even more money (almost the cost of a 7-day cruise) or cancel. Hmm, what should I do? Sorry Celebrity, talk about a slap in the face. I hate to say this but I think I'm taking my business elsewhere. Very sad and extremely disappointed.

I guess the squeaky wheel does get the grease. They WILL honor my original price./ They have restored my faith! Thank you =X=!

To say that I am disappointed with Celebrity would be an understatement. My November 21 preview cruise has been cancelled so I had to call them to see if I could get on one of the remaining preview cruises. I was astonished to find that my original cruise, which I was paying $1923 for both of us, has now ballooned to over $3,000!!!! Of course they won't honor the original price so either I spend even more money (almost the cost of a 7-day cruise) or cancel. Hmm, what should I do? Sorry Celebrity, talk about a slap in the face. I hate to say this but I think I'm taking my business elsewhere. Very sad and extremely disappointed.

CURRENTLY ON BOARD THE SUMMIT:

MASTER: Captain Charalampos Theocharis

HOTEL DIRECTOR: Danuta Nosidlak

F&B: Sheldon Martin

EXECUTIVE CHEF: Kuldeep Singh

GUEST RELATIONS: Cameron Robertson

Since we were on a themed cruise there was no CCH but the guest relations desk said a new person was coming on board.

Fear not, Celebrity is way better than Carnival. Also keep in mind you are about 500 times more likely to see a bad review online than a good one. Few people post reviews if their experience was good, but a high percentage will post if it was bad. And people on the same ship can have very different experiences. Same cruise, same meal but different times resulted in vastly different experiences.

If you read my other =X= reviews, they gush with praise. That's probably why I'm so disappointed with this cruise.

Sorry you have a disappointing time on Silhouette, especially since I am booked on her for 20Jan2019 (out of FLL!).

I recently cruised on Eclipse for the third time on a 14 day cruise (unfortunately she is going to South America next year). Since Eclipse is a similar ship to Silhouette, I share your impressions, especially about the MDR food (although service was decent) and production shows.

 

HOWEVER ... I had a good time. I think the difference is the people on board:

 

The point of all of this? Despite the [many, disappointing] changes that have come from Miami in the LPP tenure, the ship experience really does depend most on those in charge on-board. These people change. I would respectfully suggest that you give Celebrity another chance: you might find that next time you will have an amazing voyage.

Very valid points. Could be the people, which is what we are hoping.

After having cruised X several times along with HAL and Princess in the last 4 years, I know X is still a notch above for us. No, everything is not always perfect and some things from the past have disappeared, but every time we step on a Non-X cruise we are wishing we were back on Celebrity.

With all due respect, when is the last time you were on a =X= cruise? The difference between this past one and the one before two years ago is huge. We did an Oceania cruise (got an amazing deal) in '16 and was blown away. Can't afford them all the time but they are what =X= used to be for us.

Celebrity has been "Royalized" and not in a good way.....not much left of the Modern Luxury cruise line we enjoyed for many years

 

Hoping EDGE elevates Celebrity as something special again,,,,more than an LLP Royal clone!

You may be right and if you are, we may be looking for another favorite cruise line. It's too bad because we became accustomed to a certain level of professionalism from =X= and this cruise fell FAR short of our expectations.

Most of us don't enjoy reading negative reports about Celebrity, but honestly, it is important to share constructive criticism on these boards. How else is Celebrity going to know how many of its customers feel? A cruise is a very special endeavor, one that is planned for and expectations are high for another wonderful cruise. Why would so many of us return time after time if this was not the case? Sure, we all have bad days now and then, but overall the product being offered should make us want to return...sorry your cruise fell short of your expectations.

I SO agree with you Lastdance. Hopefully they still have someone watching the reviews on CC. I doubt it but maybe. We're on a charter next week. Judging by what we experience with the food, that will be the deciding factor of whether to do the Edge inaugural or cancel. It was too expensive to have a mediocre time. We'll see.

Graham was not my cup of Tea, but I really miss Donna (last year we ran into her on board, she had switched to onboard cruise sales). We also like Ratti.

 

We are on the Silhouette in 3 weeks and hope our experience matches our previous Silhouette sailings. No idea who the CC host you had was, but it sounds like I should cross my fingers and hope we have someone else.

 

Glad to hear the onboard musicians were good.

We had Graham twice and he was awesome. Good luck with the CCH. The musicians were good, especially a four-piece with an African-American lead singer. Just amazing music. There was one male/female duo that we hated, but the rest were pretty good. The production shows we found to be terrible. Maybe it was just us.

What happened at embarkation at Port Everglades? We’ve sailed from there many times and it has always been as smooth as can be. Minus the time our luggage sat in the rain.

It was AWFUL! We got dropped off at the convention center, had no idea where to go (as did the hundreds of others walking aimlessly). We finally found where to enter, went through check in (simple enough) and then waited for buses to take us to the ship. Cluster (blank) is the best way to describe it.

QUOTE "Our CCH seemed like she did not want to be there. I won’t divulge the name but that has never happened to us either."

 

OP, I am going to assume she was the same Captain's Club hostess that was on our January 7 Silhouette sailing. She was by far......the worst ever!!!!! Besides giving the impression of not wanting to be there and having absolutely no personality, she did not do her job. Not one voice mail reminding us about special CC events and the new tender process. Bring back Donna & Graham!!!!!

Yep, sounds familiar. I was really disappointed. I gave her a mediocre review even though my wife told me to be nicer. Nope, not for the money I spend and the expectations.

However there is a spark missing. Entertainers are mediocre and a wonderful cast just left. There are two wonderful bands playing almost nightly but a guitar and vocalist have no flair at all.

 

We have decided to take a break from cruising for a while.

That's a great way of putting it, there is a spark missing. That's it! I don't know what has happened but I'm looking at an MSC cruise that will save me a few bucks and be (hopefully) just as pleasant if not more so. We've done MSC before and have enjoyed them immensely. We'll see in March. Come on Celebrity, don't let us down!

We will be on the Flower Power Cruise on the Summit on Saturday. I will try to let you know who is onboard - wish we could have done the B2B and stayed onboard for your cruise. :D

We could only do one and we chose the 70's one. Enjoy your cruise and do let us know who is on board. Thanks so much.

As the old saying goes, there is a first for everything, and this is no different. This is the first time in 12 cruises with =X= that I’m posting a negative review of a Celebrity cruise. In full disclosure, my wife and I are 54, no kids, and this was our 36th cruise. To be even more transparent, Celebrity has been our go-to cruise line for a long time. We always seem to enjoy our experience better on Celebrity than on other lines. We’ve had other great cruises (Oceania was amazing), but Celebrity has always gone the extra mile. That is until this past December, the week before Christmas, 2017.

It all started at embarkation. Lots has been said about the cluster of confusion in Fort Lauderdale and yes, it was a mess. They gave us$25 for our troubles, which was a nice gesture, but embarkation was awful. So many people at a small area not knowing where to go or what to do and not many people helping you. Meh, whatever, we finally got on the ship.

To summarize things, we found the food in the MDR to be the worst ever. Dishes that seemed thrown together, not very tasty, and very generic. In past experiences, we’ve raved about their food. Not this time. We had one meal in the MDR that we found good to very good, but the rest were unappealing.

The production shows were equally bad. We found all of them to be borderline bizarre and the singing was not good. I’m no expert but I know good singing versus flat singing and I heard a lot of sour notes. We didn’t stay for one complete show. That has NEVER happened to us. I will say that the other shows in the theater were very good.

We almost had to avoid going through the shops area (the jewelry and watches shops). The workers actually hawked us like at a state fair or something. It was terrible!

Our CCH seemed like she did not want to be there. I won’t divulge the name but that has never happened to us either.

And what about one of the things I like most about Celebrity, the greeting that almost every crew member gives you when they meet your gaze. This time? About 40%. WHAT?

There were some bright moments, like an amazing collection of lounge performers. Most were very good, with one exception, but that is normal. The duo I speak of was not our cup of tea. The Lawn Club was awesome,both lunch and dinner. Q-Sine still continues to impress us, and the special Taj Mahal night they had with the Indian fare was incredible. Do not miss it if you like Indian food. Finally, our cabin steward, Revelon, was probably the best we’ve ever had.

So, be honest, did we miss a memo or something? Have these changes been gradually phased in and we just missed it? Granted, we hadn’t been on a Celebrity cruise in over two years so things may have changed. Still, to change this drastically really has us concerned. What has happened to our favorite cruise line??? Not sure where to point the blame. Is it the new CEO? Maybe it’s the ship, a jinx or something. Maybe it’s just us expecting too much (like a repeat of past awesome experiences is asking for too much). We were excited about booking the new Edge for her inaugural sailing, but we’ll see how things go on our March cruise aboard the Summit. We might have to cancel the Edge, and worse yet, may have to find another favorite cruise line. Sorry Celebrity, but we were really disappointed this time. :loudcry::loudcry:

Hey everybody, we're just a few weeks away from the Rock & Romance cruise. Should be fun. Some of these music cruises can be. It's on the Summit. Anyone know the current staff on board? Usually the CD and CCH don't do much on these cruise but if it is someone we know, we'd at least like to say hello.

Hey everybody, we're just a few weeks away from the Rock & Romance cruise. Should be fun. Some of these music cruises can be. It's on the Summit. Anyone know the current staff on board? Usually the CD and CCH don't do much on these cruise but if it is someone we know, we'd at least like to say hello.

Any feedback on the other stops? How was the entertainment? Who was the CD? Captain? CC Host/ess?

As long as it has a Qsine and a Martini Bar, it's got my vote!